Actions speak louder than words
by Fluffymausi-chan
Summary: No one had expected this. No one wanted to believe it, but one cannot interrupt the Avatar-cycle... Zutara Kataang Taang


****_Hey everyone._

_I don't know what got into me, but somehow that idea kept bothering me. Maybe you were asking yourself the same question as me.  
_

_I hope you like it.  
_

_Your FMC._

_**Disclaimer**: I don't own anything but the idea.  
_

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**Actions speak louder than words**

He was consciously avoiding getting near her.

Right now, she would prefer actions over words. He had to be careful. Her hands still clutched the picture frame as if it was her last hold. Why? He had asked himself this question so often. Timidly he raised his hand but let it drop again. He sighed silently while putting his hands back in his trouser pockets to avoid the temptation to touch her, to pull her in his arms and to never let her go, before the dark cloud over her eyes had passed.

But he knew that he could not do that. He was not the right person. It was not his place, but he was the only one who could heal her. That's what he kept telling himself over the past hours. Why? Maybe he should search for her brother or her best friend, but he didn't want. He felt stupid and out of place. Why should he stay and be silent instead of searching for somebody who could really comfort her? It made no sense, but he was used that there was no sense in his crazy life. Nothing ever made sense.

Again a sigh escaped his lips. She didn't react.

Nervously he was passing his hand through his dark hair. It was making him crazy. There were no more than 2 meters separating him from the silent woman. Her back was facing him and he had not seen her face since the arrival of the message. She sat there in silence. Shattered. Hurt. Devastated. Her shoulders were not shaking like he had expected, therefore she had to cry mutely. The silence was overwhelming and trying to suffocate him, if he did not say something soon. But no one wanted to start a conversation. He was afraid to say something that would aggravate the whole situation. He would never admit it though.

He mustered the woman in the pale light of the moon, which had replaced the sun by now. She looked like a statue, because she still sat on the exact same spot. Even though all his muscles cried in agony, because he had not moved either, he pushed those thoughts away and remained standing. He knew he could not help her. With no word. But he hoped that his presence would convey comfort. If he could not help her, then he would be there for her at least.

It was difficult for him to stay strong, mind you that the message also had an impact on him. How could it not? His heart ached and he would have liked to retreat and to think about everything that happened, but he could not. Not now. She needed him. Maybe he was telling himself that only to believe in it, but he knew that it was a right decision and so he kept standing behind the woman, while gazing in the night sky with all its stars.

The night was silent and even though it had looked as if it would rain in the afternoon, the dark clouds had passed. Not even the sky was sharing their sorrow. The coming darkness of the night threated to swallow her, but the crescent moon shone bright enough to illuminate her. It had been warm the whole day, but it was beginning to get colder with the nightfall. The few insects of the night were the only source of noise and he wanted to say something to break the silence, but he had never been a man of words, and decided that he should remain quiet.

His golden eyes mustered the woman with the chestnut hair, which looked black in the darkness. Black. A fitting color. He traced his scar unconsciously while looking between her and the stars. She still had not moved. Her breathing was so shallow, that he thought she had left the Earth already. Like **him**.

He was searching for the right comforting and empathic words, but nothing seemed to fit the situation. Nothing could help her, even though he wanted to do something so badly. Was his presence during the last hours not proof enough for that? He felt like he was burning from the inside which was rather illogical, because of the fact that he was a firebender. He would have liked to tell her his stupid thought to pull her out of her sadness and to make her laugh again. That would make him happy. But he kept quiet. Again. It was not appropriate and he was a coward. He always had been around her.

She did not know. She did not know about the changes, which turned his world upside down. She did not know about his heart, which locked Mai out. Years had passed since the day of their breakup, but he could not forget Mai's bitter words.

"_You are too much of a coward to tell her_."

It had been her pain that had said those words. Nonetheless it had hurt him, particularly because she had been right. He had always been a coward and he could not comfort the woman in front of him. He was pathetic. His heart was pounding painfully against his ribcage and tried to pull him near his goal, but he refused to move. He was too afraid of a rejection. Especially right now. Both their hearts were weak.

But still he could not stay like this forever. He had to say something, anything! He approached her timidly and he felt his sore muscles aching in pain, after he finally moved. His dark hair, which had grown a lot after all those years, fell in his face, but he did not move the long bangs out of his sight. They were the last barrier between him and the woman.

His mouth was dry when he whispered her name. The horse cawing was not comprehensible but he thought he had seen her react to his voice. She had flinched and therefore had not noticed him the whole time. His heart ached with this thought, but he did not want to stop now. She was no stranger, but a good friend. He felt more for her, but he would not tell her this. Not today.

"Katara…"

Finally he had been able to say her name and he felt as if a large burden fell from his shoulders. The silence was broken and the tension had disappeared with a gust of wind. But he saw that he was the only one feeling better. He was the only one who could breathe freely again. She was still stuck in her sorrow and he knew that she would not get out of there alone. She needed help. A hand.

A few sweat beads were running down his face, as he approached her. He kept telling himself and remembering the horrible picture, which he had witnessed a few hours ago, only to have the courage to go towards her.

All the colours had vanished from her face and her wide eyes had not stopped crying. She had trembled so much, that even he, who had stood so far away, had noticed it. He had seen her shattering. But she had not been the only one.

Toph Bei Fong. The best earthbender and the first metalbender had broken down with the arrival of the message. Her sightless eyes had cried so many tears while she had done nothing than destroying landscapes and breaking boulders with her fists. She had wanted to make the pain disappear but with no success. No one had known how close they both had been, but after seeing her reaction, it had been clear that the woman had felt more than friendship for **him**. For **him**… He did not want to say the name.

Sokka had tried to be strong, same as him. Suki had cried silently in his arms. The whole room had been filled with sobs and quiet prayers, someone may give him back. At one moment he had thought that **he** would come back, but it had only been Ty Lee. He had spotted a tear in Sokkas eyes and had turned his face away. It would have made him cry too, but he had to stay strong, if not for him, than for the others. They needed the support and he wanted to hold them.

Toph had been in his arms to cry in his chest. She had mumbled curses, sobs and quiet prayers to Agni in his robe, even though she had known that nothing would bring **him** back. While caressing the earthbender, he had met the eyes of Katara. They had been broken like the glass of a window and all her emotions had lay bare in front of him like never before.

Before he could have called her name, she had turned on her heels and had excited the room hurriedly.

That had been a few hours ago. He had been quiet since then but he knew that it was time to break the silence. His feet moved on their own around the kneeling woman. It was hard to make her out in the pale moonlight, but he could see her azure eyes, which were avoiding his golden depths and kept staring lifeless on his boots. He felt a knot building in his throat and suddenly the nervousness made it again hard to breathe. His tongue was stuck and even after trying to say something, it was only a hoarse cry that escaped his lips. She avoided looking up.

His dull golden eyes mustered her, while memories were passing in front of his inner eye. He had hunted, chained, humiliated, yelled, fought, lied, betrayed and finally rescued her. They were mainly bad memories, so many years ago, during the war, but now everything was different. They had learned to get along and restored their trust in each other. Nothing would have made him happier. But that had been before the arrival of the message.

First it had only been rumours. Villagers had talked about **his** death. They had said something about rebirth. No one had listened to those rumours. Not until that day. A messenger from the Earth King had delivered a message. Katara had been the one who had opened the door and had taken the message. With a smile. Her last.

They had all come together to celebrate the end of the war. Like every year. Everyone had been there already, except for him. No one had given a thought about his absence, but after hearing Kataras scream, their silent worries had been confirmed.

He had never seen Katara like this. The strong willed woman he knew was devastated. No one had dared to ask what had happened, because they had been too afraid to voice it. It would become real. True. Painful.

„He is dead…"

She had whispered it, shocked, while crying silently. It was real and it hurt.

He did not dare to speak to her, while she was clutching **his **picture in her hands. Tears gathered on the glass of the picture, but there were no sobs. His eyes mustered the woman and it hurt, because he saw **him **for a moment in her. His best friend.

With **his** disappearance, it felt like the laughter had disappeared as well. The world seemed instantly darker than before, as if all the evil forces had awaited the death of the Avatar to creep out of their holes. He knew it was the truth, but now was not the moment to think about that. First they had to cope with **his** death, which would take a lot of time.

Again he opened his mouth to say something, but decided against it. Determined he took a deep breath and did what he wanted to do all the time, during the past hours. Action always spoke louder than words.

Startled she looked up when she noticed the motion in the darkness. Even though he did not want to look her in the eyes, he pulled himself together and gave her a nod with an encouraging smile. He thought that she would either ignore him or scream at him, but against all his doubts, she nodded as well, without a smile, and took his hand.

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A/N: I hope you liked it.

Feel free to give me constructive criticism. :)

Your FMC


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